Sunday, August 20, 2006

I just watched most of Supercross: The Movie, and I found myself spending more time analyzing it than actually following the story. I couldn't help it; the purpose of the movie was not to tell a story. Rather, it was a series of advertisements using an unrefined story to connect them.

A short list of products featured in the movie that are fresh in my mind right now:

It's kind of fun to analyze this movie because the producers' objectives are so obvious. They clearly intended to make a movie with a high quality look and sound--something that would feel right in theaters. They didn't cut corners when it came to equipment quality, but the actual content of the movie was not the highest priority. Clearly the #1 objective was to find ways to highlight the products that helped pay for the movie.

The movie doesn't suck; it's OK. But one thing really limited my ability to enjoy the final scenes. The last 10 minutes of the movie was a fictional version of the Supercross season finale at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. Even though the event is set in only one place (Sam Boyd Stadium), the footage of that single event came from at least a few different stadiums, which really distracted me. Instead of focusing on the story, I ended up paying attention to the background to see if I could figure out how much of the scene was shot in locations other than Sam Boyd Stadium.

It doesn't bother me that some of that scene's footage came from different locations, but it does bother me that they didn't try very hard to make it look like a single location. Having attended UNLV, I know how Sam Boyd Stadium looks and feels. It's basically a "U" shaped stadium with no upper deck and small-radius curves around the corners of the south end zone. But in the final scene of the movie there were shots showing upper decks and 45-degree-angled seating transitions. Even if I wasn't familiar with Sam Boyd Stadium, I would have noticed the inconsistencies. I can tell the difference between Sam Boyd Stadium and the Orange Bowl, and some of the scene from Sam Boyd Stadium was filmed in the Orange Bowl. That just bothers me.

But, as I said, the producers obviously placed a higher value on advertising than on content. Their objective was to make money, not to tell a great story, so I can't complain.

There is a lesson to be learned from Supercross: The Movie. Movies are a good place to advertise. If this was not true, why would so many large corporations continue to contribute funding in exchange for screen time?

I have realistic expectations regarding Aimless's potential for exposure. That is, I know it's not going to reach as many people as Star Wars or ET. But Aimless will be able to reach an audience at least as big as Supercross's audience without a lot of difficulty. And it will take a lot less money to do it.

So yeah, I'm making the pitch again: Sponsor Aimless if you want to make some easy money.